"We are in despair!"
"Help us!"
And the crowd gathered round him with wild gestures.
Quietly but decisively the King freed himself.
"Have patience," he said gravely; "before the sun sets you shall have bread."
And he hurried to his room.
There a Roman physician and some of Mataswintha's attendants awaited him.
"Sire," said the physician, "the Queen, your wife, is very sick. The terrors of last night have disturbed her mind. She speaks as if in delirium. Will you not see her?"
"Not now. Have a care of her."
"With an air of great distress and anxiety she gave me this key," added the physician. "It appeared to be the principal subject of her wandering speeches. She took it from under her pillow, and she made me swear to give it into your own hands, as it was of great importance."